Wheeled truck.



No. 770,773. PATENTED s001107, 1004. 0. A. MGGUIRKJR. 0 0. P. M0GU1RK,'SR.

WHEELED TRUCK.

APPLICATION P1LED.APR.29. 1904.

No MODEL.

Inventors I ttornegs Patented September 27, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. MCGUIRK, JR., AND CHARLES P. MCGUIRK, SR., OF WEST HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY.

WHEELED TRUCK.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 770,773, dated September 27, 1904.

Application led April 29, 1904. Serial No. 205,599. (No model.)

V"To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that we, CHARLES A. MCGUIRK, Jr., and CHARLES P. MCGUIRK, Sr., citizens of the United States, residing at West Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Wheeled Truck, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to wheeled trucks for the transportation or carriage of merchandise around stores, warehouses, and the like, where it is necessary to employ trucks which may be conveniently moved through narrow aisles, transported upon elevators and the like, and which trucks must be of a nature to occupy the least possible space in order that they may be conveniently and economically handled.

The object of' this invention is therefore to provide a truck of this character which shall be simple in'construction, durable, and inexpensive, capable of being easily handled, and which when not in use may be folded into small compass, so that it may be conveniently stored and to enable a considerable number of such folded trucks to be transported upon an elevator to or from the place of storage.

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts,'which will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being understood, however, that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that the right is reserved to any changes, alterations, and modifications which come fairly within the scope of the invention and which may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the same.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the improved truck, showing the same with one of the ends and one of the sides partly folded. Eig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a truck, showing the same extended for use. Eig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 2 and showing the truck folded.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated by similar numerals of reference. The base of the improved truck consists of a box-like body including a bottom 1, sides 2 2, and end pieces 3 3a, all of which are constructed of material suiiiciently stout and durable to resist any strain to which the device in practical use may be subjected. This base is mounted, preferably, upon swiveled caster-wheels 5 5,-which are secured under the bottom midway between the sides and ends,

so as to aord a support for the truck which y will enable the latter to be turned in a space slightly exceeding its own length.

One of the ends, 6, of the truck is connected hingedly with the bottom 1 at a short distance from the end piece 3, so that the said end piece when secured in position by means to be hereinafter described may be folded down flat against the bottom, as will be seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The opposite end piece, 7, is connected hingedly with a cleat 8, which is secured to the bottom 1 adjacent to the end piece 3, said cleat being' of a height at least equal to the thickness of the foldable end piece 6, against which the end piece 7 may thus be folded when desired, as will be likewise seen in Eig. 3 of the drawings.

The side pieces 9 9 of the truck are each composed of a lower member 10 and an upper member 11, connected with each other by hinges 12, said hinges being disposed exteriorly upon the members 10 and 11, so that the latter may be folded outwardly and downwardly against the outer sides of the members 10. The latter are connected at their lower edges by means of hinges 13 to the upper inner edges of the side pieces 2 2, thus enabling said side members 10.10 to be folded inwardly in the direction of each other in such a manner as to be capable yof being supported upon' the end pieces 6 and 7 when the latter have been folded within the base of the truck, as in Fig. 3. When the parts are thus folded together, the upper members 11 of the side pieces 9 will be disposed uppermost, as will be clearly seen in said Fig. 3.

For the purpose of maintaining the several side members of the truck proper in the proper relative position when extended the members 10 and 11 of the side pieces are each provided at the ends thereof with staples 111, adapted to be engagedv by hooks 15, which are pivotally connected with the end pieces 6 and 7, it being understood, however, that other wellknown and approved connecting means may be substituted within the scope of the invention. It is also preferred that each of the end pieces 6 and 7 be provided near the upper edge thereof with rings or links 16, forming handles, by means of which they may be conveniently manipulated when the truck is to be unfolded to operative position.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood. It will be seen, primarily, that the members 6 7 and 9 9 lof the truck may be folded together, so as to occupy but little space, the end members 6 and 7 being accommodated entirely within the box-like base of the truck. Said end members when raised to operative position will abut upon the end members 3 of the base, and will consequently be braced against displacement in an outward direction. The said members 9 9 when in operative position will be primarily supported upon the upper edges of the side members 2 2 of the base, and they will be braced against collapsing by the end members 6 and 7 which are introduced between them. The hooks o r other fastening devices will serve to firmly connect the side and end members at the corners of the truck, which thus when extended constitutes a firm and comparatively rigid structure adapted to contain merchandise, loose or in packages, which it shall be desired to transport from one place to another. It will be observed that the material of which the side members of the base are composed is thicker than that of which the superimposed side members 9 9 are made. A narrow ledge or flange 17 will thus be formed adjacent to the lower edges of the side members 9, while a similar ledge 18 will be formed by the upper edges of the end members 3 adjacent to the end members 6 and 7. Owing to this construction, in case of two trucks coming in collision with each other, there will be no danger of injury to the superstructures, the shock being taken up by the comparatively massive bases thereof. The

same will be the case in the event of 'a truck coming in contact with walls, posts, -or other obstructions.

It is desired to be understood that these improved trucks may be manufactured of any desired material or combination of materials which may be found most advantageous for the purposes of the invention. It isalso to be understood that the superstructure of the trucks, by which is meant the end members 6 7 and the side members -9 9, may be-made of light or heavy material without regard to the relative construction of the base.

A distinct advantage of this invention is that in loading or unloading the upper halves 11 of the side members 9 may be turned down, so as to rest upon the flanges 17 at the upper edges of the base members 2, thus affording more convenient access to the interior of the truck and avoiding the necessity of dumping or throwing packages into the latter. Likewise when heavy material, such as hardware, is to be transported the upper halves 11 of the side pieces 9 may be supported upon the fianges 17, thus bracing and reinforcing the structure without materially detracting from its holding capacity.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is-- 1. In a device of the class described, a base consisting of a shallow box including a bottom, side members and end members, rotary supporting means for said base, and a superstructure including end members and foldable side members hingedly connected with said base.

2. In a device of the class described, a base consistingof a shallow boxincluding a bottom and side and end members, a cleat secured to the bottom adjacent to one of the end members; and a superstructure including end pieces, one of which is hingedly connected with the bottom of the base near one en d thereof and the other being hingedly connected with the cleat, and foldable side pieces connected with the upper inner edges of the side members of the base, said foldable side pieces being composed, each, of a plurality of parts `hingedly connec-ted with each other.

3. In a device of the class described, ashallow box-likebase,rotary supporting means for said base, end pieces hingedly connected with the bottom of the base and with a cleat secured to said bottom, and foldable side pieces connected with the upper inner edges of the side members of the base, each consisting of two hingedly connected members and each being of material of less thickness than the material of the side members of the b'ase.

4. In a device of the class described, a boxlike base, rotary supporting means for the same, and a superstructure including side pieces hingedly connected with the upper in- IOO IIO

ner edges of the side members of the base and our own we have hereto affixed our signatures made of relatively thin material, whereby in the presence of two witnesses.

ledges are formed adjacent to the lower edges N of said side pieces, the latter being provided gli' 5 with hinged extensions capable of being fold- C R' ed outward and downward to rest upon said Witnesses:

ledges. MARY CECELIA MGGUIRK,

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as AGNES GERTRUDE MCGIHRK. 

